


feb 2

by preusterreich



Series: Birthday Boys [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, rin gets wasted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 19:43:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5883172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/preusterreich/pseuds/preusterreich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin is in Australia for his birthday, so his Aussie friends take him out to the club, but Rin just misses his boyfriend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	feb 2

**Author's Note:**

> ~~~PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU START THE STORY~~~
> 
> 1\. In regards to my original character, Max, please read all of his dialogue with the most stereotypical Aussie accent you can muster. It's really fun if you say his lines out loud!
> 
> 2\. Australians, PLEASE DON'T READ THIS! I'm so so SO sorry. I don't have any idea about Australian slang, so I just looked it up on the internet. Please don't hate me if it's super outdated and awkward!
> 
> 3\. Also I'm sorry that this story kinda turned into Max/Rin. I just really like Max; he's fun. I'm totally not imagining them drunk-fucking or anything. No way. Not in a million years. (I totally am.)

The familiar tone of an incoming Skype call jolted Rin from his homework. It was a sound he heard often and had come to cherish.

He clicked the button to answer the call.

"Hey, Rei." 

"Hello, Rin. How are you feeling today?" 

Rin chuckled softly. "I'm a little stressed, but I'm doing fine now that you called."

"I'm glad to hear that. I hope you're keeping up on all your studies." Rei said through the screen.

"Of course I am! I'm not an idiot." Rin wasn't angry.

"I am well aware, but I know how you can get too involved in your training sometimes. It's easy to let schoolwork slip." 

Rei was only concerned for Rin, and Rin knew this.

"Don't worry about me, Rei. I would never disappoint you by getting bad grades. Jeez, you'd probably break up with me." he joked.

Rei's image on the screen suddenly looked shocked. 

"I would never break up with you over your grades!" he screeched. "Grades are important, yes, but you are far more dear to me than a perfect grade ever would be!"

Rin's heart tightened, but it was something he had heard often. Rei seemed to have no filter when it came to his feelings about Rin. 

"I miss you, Rei."

Rei's expression turned immediately to a gentle smile. "I miss you too, Rin. I still remember my birthday like it was yesterday."

"Well, it was less than two months ago." Rin jabbed.

"I know, but I still feel your warmth like it was only moments ago."

Tears welled in Rin's eyes at that comment. "God, Rei, I wish you could be here for my birthday."

"I'm sorry, Rin." Rei said, sympathy sincere in his voice. "If you're feeling lonely, I'm sure your neighbour across the hall would be willing to take you out for the night. He was a good friend of yours, yes?"

"Max? Yeah, we're pretty good friends, I guess-" Rin rested his chin in his palm on the desk as he stared at Rei's image on the screen. "but he's not you, Rei." he said gently.

Rei blushed a bit, then adopted a serious look. "Rin, I have something to tell you.

"What is it?" Rin asked, suddenly alarmed. He didn't like the expression on Rei's face.

"I won't be able to speak with you for the next week or so; I have an important test coming up that's going to take up a lot of my time."

Rin suddenly sat up and backed away from the screen. "But Rei, my birthday is in five days! You can't not talk to me on my birthday!" he cried. "You're going to talk to me on my birthday, right?"

Rei raised his hands in a calming gesture. "Don't worry, Rin! I promise that I will talk to you on your birthday, but I won't be able to talk to you anytime before that." He hung his head. "In fact, this will probably be the last time we can talk until then."

Rin's shoulders sank. "Really?" 

"I'm afraid so. I'm very sorry, Rin."

Rin was happy that he could speak to Rei on his birthday, but not being able to see him at all until then? That was going to kill him. 

Rin sighed. "I'm going to miss you even more." He felt his heart clench.

"Please don't cry, Rin. We'll talk on your birthday, I promise." Rei smiled.

Rin knew Rei did not go back on his promises.

Rin nodded. "Okay, Rei, I know you're gonna keep that promise." He smiled gently. "I love you."

"I love you too, Rin." He blew a kiss to the screen. 

Rin started to laugh. "Oh my god! Did you actually just do that? That was so lame!"

Rei blushed. "I thought you would think it was romantic!" he huffed.

"No way! It was really lame!" he snickered.

"Well, even though you think I'm lame, I still love you." Rei announced. "Nothing will change that."

Rin suddenly found himself unable to laugh. He hid his eyes behind a hand and blushed furiously. "Jeez Rei, how do you go from embarrassing to sentimental in, like, two seconds?"

Rei smirked. "Practice." His smirk then melted to a loving smile. "I love you, Rin. I'll talk to you on your birthday."

"Alright Rei, I love you too." The two boys shared a smile, and Rin ended the call. Once he was alone again, his expression shifted to a heartbroken frown. He was used to talking to Rei for at least a few minutes everyday, but now he had to go without seeing his beautiful eyes and cute nose and kissable lips for a week.

It was gonna be a long week.

\----------

"Hey, Rin!"

Rin glanced up from his textbook to see someone approaching through the library shelves. It was his neighbour from across the hall, Max. 

Max had unruly, dirty-blonde hair and rich brown eyes. He had a slender build and was a bit taller than Rin, standing at 180cm. The friendly Australian boy was one of Rin's closest friends at university. They had been neighbours in the previous year as well and had grown quite close. He was a bit of a partier, and he always included Rin in his plans. He reminded Rin of Nagisa.

"Max, you shouldn't yell in the library." Rin's English was still tinged with a hint of a Japanese accent.

Max grinned. "Sorry bud! I know you're studyin' hard!" His voice grew quieter as he drew closer. When they had first met, Rin had had some trouble understanding Max because of his thick Australian accent(And the fact that he had been out of Australia for two years, so his English was a bit rusty.), but he soon picked up the language and dialect once again.

"I just wanted to invite you out on Saturday!" Max declared. "We're all going out to the club, plus I heard it's your birthday!" 

Rin raised an eyebrow. "But my birthday isn't until the second."

"Yeah, but that's a Tuesday! Who goes out on Tuesday?" Max gave an exaggerated shrug. "Tell you what, I'll buy you a beer as long as you skull it."

Rin chuckled. Max and his odd slang were endless entertainment. Rin didn't even know what 'skull it' meant. 

"Sure, I'll come out with you." Rin decided he should take Rei's advice and go have fun with his friends instead of stewing over the fact that he would be unable to see or talk to Rei for the week.

"Beauty! Saturday at 10pm!" Max patted Rin on the shoulder and retreated back into the stacks.

Rin laughed quietly and shook his head. He was sure he would have a great time.

\----------

A few more days of class and Saturday finally rolled around. Rin knocked on Max's door just before 10pm, and when the door flew open, it was obvious that Max was already a little buzzed; he held a bottle of beer in one hand. There was a group of people in his room too, and they all had some kind of drink in their hands. Rin knew all of them, so he wasn't uncomfortable at all. Max had a lot of friends, and they were all, by extension, Rin's friends too.

"Rin!" he yelled. "Glad you could make it!" 

Rin laughed and pointed his thumb at the door of his room across the hall. "Well, I live right there."

"Right!" Max laughed loudly. "God Rin, you're such a dag!"

Rin raised one eyebrow. "Thanks? Hey, I thought we were going out to get drunk, or did you decide to make this a house party instead?"

"Rin, you gotta get a little rotten before you go out! Drinks at pubs are expensive!" Max handed him a fresh bottle of beer. "Here, just have one or two, then we'll go."

Rin popped the cap off and took a quick swig. "Alright."

\----------

After a half hour or so in Max's room with their group, they all decided they were ready to go.

They called for a taxi and were ferried to the club within fifteen minutes. The line to get in was quite long, but Max knew the bouncer and managed to get their entire party in by telling him that it was Rin's birthday in a few days.

Inside the club, the lights were blinding and the music was deafening. 

"I'll shout first!" Max was practically screaming but Rin could barely hear him. The group roved through the crowd toward the bar and Max ordered a round of shots for everyone. 

Rin downed the burning alcohol in one gulp and immediately ordered another one, promising to enjoy himself tonight and to try not to think about Rei too much.

\----------

Two hours, five beers, and three more shots later, Rin found himself on the dance floor, moving gracelessly to the thumping beat of club music in the middle of a throng of people. His friends were around somewhere, and Max was bringing him another beer.

"Som'ore piss fer the birthday boy!"

Rin saw the beer in Max's hand and started tearing up. _"Ahh, Maxu?"_ He pointed to himself. _"For me?"_ he said, slipping back into Japanese in his drunken state. 

Max gave him a funny look and put the bottle in his hands. 

Rin held the bottle and bowed slowly to Max. _"Aaariiigatouuu, Maxu..."_ He took a sip of the beer, and as Max turned to slip away back into the crowd, Rin rested a hand on his shoulder. _"Matte, Maxu!"_ he called, his speech slurred.

These were a few of the Japanese words that Rin had taught Max previously, so Max understood that Rin wanted to tell him something, and upon closer inspection, he could tell that Rin was a little too intoxicated. He led Rin over to a seating area where he could rest, sitting him down on the couch against the wall and plopping down next to him.

 _"Maxu,"_ Rin set his beer down on the ground in front of the couch and rested his head in this hands. _"I'mss m'boyfrennnd!"_ he cried in Japanese.

These were words that Max did not recognize. Even though he couldn't understand a thing Rin was saying, Max felt like it was his duty to listen. After all, he was the one that had gotten Rin so plastered in the first place. He put an arm around Rin's shoulder as he continued to belt out his feelings in slurred and abhorrent Japanese. 

_"M'bofriend, Rei, I jus' love 'im sooooooo much, but 'e's got a TEST comin' up, n he won't talk ta me on skpe!"_ Rin looked up at Max for sympathy. He received only a simple smile and a pat on the back. He turned to face forward again. _"Nd on m'birthday."_

Max decided that Rin had definitely had enough to drink for the night.

"Rin, I'm sorry, but I can't understand a single thing you're saying!" he yelled over the booming music.

Rin suddenly looked at him with an intensely surprised expression. _"Maxu! I didn' know ya could speak japnese!"_ he said in Japanese.

Max had not been speaking Japanese. Shaking his head, he pulled Rin up from the couch. "Okay, M takin' you home." Rin was shaky on his feet, but managed to stay upright with Max's help. Max tapped one of their other friends on the shoulder, Alice, a brunette girl who had yet to feel the more intense effects of the alcohol in her system.

"M takin Rin home. 'E's off 'is face"

She took one look at Rin, his arm draped across Max's shoulder and head hung low, and she agreed wholeheartedly. "Yes! Please take 'im home, n' try not to let 'im throw up on ya!"

Max nodded and waved to her as the two boys left the club. Max called for a cab and Rin continued sobbing in Japanese until their ride arrived.

 _"Why wud 'e do that ta me? I visited 'im for 'is birthday in decmber..."_ he muttered. _"God, I fucked 'im so good."_

Max only nodded, trying his best to reassure Rin. He was sure Rin wouldn't remember this the next day, but Max would. He was going to tease Rin about it tomorrow.

'Hey Rin, when you're pissed drunk, you start talking Japanese and no one can understand anything you say!' was what he was gonna say. He chuckled as the cab pulled up. He seated Rin in the backseat and slipped in next to him. He directed the driver back to the university dorms, and promptly paid him once they arrived.

Max pulled Rin out of the cab and called a quick "Thanks, mate!" as the driver pulled away. 

Rin had devolved into sobbing and mumbling Rei's name over and over again. Max led him back to his room and fished around in Rin's pocket for his dorm key. Rin did not resist a bit. Good thing Max wasn't trying to rob him. 

"Jeez Rin, you're really pissed." He retrieved the key and unlocked the door, pulling Rin inside and sitting him down on his bed. He grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with water, then set it on the floor next to the bed. "I want ya to drink that, bud."

Rin went to reach for the water, but missed it entirely. Max chuckled and picked up the cup, lifting it up toward Rin's hand and gently pressing it into his grip. 

"Can ya even drink it on your own?" Max asked, more to himself than Rin because it was obvious that Rin was going to need help. 

"Here- Just wait a sec, Rin." Max went across the hall to his dorm, quickly unlocking the door and grabbing a straw from the box he bought for the party. He then returned to Rin's room and popped the straw into the glass of water. "There! Now drink that whole cup!"

Rin brought the straw to his lips and took a long sip. 

"Ace! And lemme know if you're gonna puke; I'll get ya a bucket. Actually, you might not be able ta tell me in English, so I'll get ya one now."

Max grabbed a plastic trashcan and handed it over. Rin suddenly dropped the cup of water to the floor and reached for the bucket. He promptly threw up in it. 

"Whew, good timing!" Max laughed as he picked up Rin's spilt cup and straw from the floor. "Prolly better for ya to throw it up anyway." He refilled the cup and brought it back over to Rin, sitting down on the bed next to him as he hugged the trashcan to his chest.

"But I'm gonna hold the cup this time." he said, eyeing the wet patch on the floor. It was just water - not a big deal, but Max didn't want to take that bucket from Rin, lest there be a worse mess to clean up.

He set the cup down on the floor and patted Rin's back. "Get it all out if ya can." Rin groaned for a second, slumped over the trashcan, then threw up again. Max cringed as he stood up, grabbing a towel from the counter and using it to wipe Rin's mouth. 

"Jeez, mate, you're a mess." It was at that moment that he noticed that Rin was also crying. "Hey, it's no big deal! We all get a little too drunk sometimes!" He put an arm around Rin's shoulders. "It ain't a reason to get all teary-eyed!" 

_"Jus' miss m'boyfren sooo much."_ Rin sobbed in Japanese. 

Max shook his head and frowned. "Rin, I can't understand ya." He picked up the cup of water from the floor. "Here, drink this." 

Rin set the trashcan down at his feet, not too far out of reach just in case he should need it again. Max held the cup close to his face, and Rin took a gulp from the straw.

"You wanna try holdin' the cup?"

"Yeeaaa..." he said quietly.

"Rin, are you saying 'yeah' in English, or 'no' in Japanese?"

Rin sniffled and repeated himself in slurred English. "Yessss..."

"Okay, I understood that one! You're makin' progress!"

\----------

Rin did not throw up again that night. Max made him drink three more cups of water and stayed with him until he passed out. He even cleaned out the trashcan. Then he slipped out back to his own room.

The clock read 1:34am.

Too early to retire for the night, but Max was now sober, and it was too late to go back to the club and get drunk all over again. He decided to just call it a night and went back to his dorm to get ready for bed.

\----------

Rin awoke the next morning with a nasty headache. He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling for a moment before he closed his eyes again to block out the light. 

"Ugh, I'm gonna kill Max for letting me get that drunk." he growled quietly. Cracking one eye open, he glanced at the clock. 

9:16am.

"It's only Sunday. I can sleep in longer." he said, but at that moment, he had an intense and overwhelming need to pee. He got up carefully, head pounding, and fumbled his way to the toilet.

After relieving himself, he crawled back to his bed and laid down again, only to be disturbed by a knock on the door.

"Oww, stop knocking please!" he yelled, holding his head in his hands.

"Rin, it's me!" Max called. "I came to see how you're doing! I also brought you some aspirin for your headache." 

"I'm fine, go away."

"Rin, if you don't let me in, I'll keep knocking!"

Rin groaned and, once again, rose carefully from the bed to let Max in. He was given some pills and swallowed them easily with a quick gulp of water.

"You feeling alright?"

Rin nodded - a bad idea.

"You don't remember anything that happened last night, do you?"

Rin froze. Had he done something stupid? God, he couldn't remember.

"I remember going down to the club and doing shots, but after that I'm a little fuzzy."

Max chuckled. "Jeez, Rin, you were totally wasted. You couldn't even speak English anymore! You were just sobbing in Japanese all night long. No one could understand anything you said!"

Rin covered his eyes out of embarrassment. "Oh my god. At least I didn't say or do anything stupid."

"Well, you did throw up a couple of times. Then you cried. You also kept saying 'Rei'. Is that someone you know?"

He had been crying about Rei? Good thing he couldn't speak English; he hadn't told anyone in Australia about Rei yet. 

"Uh, yeah, he's a close friend of mine back in Japan. One of my best friends."

Max suddenly had a look of understanding on his face. "Ahh, you miss your friend. That's why you were crying about him?"

"Yeah." Rin said carefully. He scratched at the back of his neck.

Max clapped a hand over Rin's shoulder. "It's okay, bud! We've all been there! Anyway, I'm gonna let you sleep! Hope those pills kick in soon!" He let himself out of Rin's room and closed the door gently behind him. 

Rin was thankful for that. He decided to sleep for a few more hours. He had nowhere to be.

\---------

When he woke from his nap, he went to his computer and booted up Skype out of habit. Maybe he would be able to catch Rei for a few minutes.

No luck. 

Rin knew that Rei would never stray from his school work for the computer. He was way too responsible, unlike Rin last night. He closed Skype and sighed, hanging his head low and threading his fingers through his hair. 

Only one more day.

\----------

When Monday rolled around, Rin was back to 100 percent.

Well, almost. He was still missing a part of himself because he hadn't spoken to Rei yet. He couldn't get his mind off Rei.

Usually, he could spend a few minutes in the morning talking to him, then be good for the day, not thinking about him again until that night.

But now, his thoughts always wandered back to his boyfriend. How was he doing? Was he making progress in his studying? 

_Do you miss me?_

_Because I miss you._

During his classes, Rei was all he could think about. Forget focusing on his lecture - everywhere he looked he saw Rei, like a starving man sees a feast in every corner of his vision.

He only had three classes that day. Once they had concluded, he returned to his dorm and immediately opened Skype. Rei did not await him. Rin groaned audibly and pulled at his hair. 

'Ughhh, I just need to see him! Just for a few minutes!' he thought.

He opened his computer files and went through all the images of him and Rei together, and they helped to calm Rin down a bit. He sighed to himself.

'I'll get to talk to him tomorrow. He promised.'

Rin trusted Rei.

\----------

When Rin awoke at 8am on the second of February, he jolted out of bed and threw his laptop open, starting up Skype and foregoing breakfast in his excitement to talk to Rei. 

He was shaking in anticipation of seeing that solid green dot next to Rei's profile picture.

But Rei was not online.

Rin's heart sank, but it was still early. 

"He's probably getting ready for class. He'll be on later." Rin told himself as reassurance.

Rei hadn't even left him a message. No 'Happy Birthday', no 'I'll talk to you later', not even an 'I love you'.

Rin suddenly slumped back in his chair, slapping himself on the cheek. 

"Jesus, Rin, get a hold of yourself." he scolded. "He will be on. Just be patient. You're such an ass." 

He sighed and began to get ready for class, ashamed of his codependent behaviour.

\----------

Rin had two classes on Tuesday, and as he headed back to his dorm, he steadied himself.

'Don't get all excited, Rin.' he thought, shifting his books between his arms as he walked. 'Deep breaths. You don't want to look like an idiot.'

When he arrived at his room, he deposited his textbooks gracelessly on his bed and opened his computer. Awaiting him were six messages.

_Sousuke: Happy Birthday Rin. Try not to get too drunk. You aren't that great at holding your liquor._

_Makoto: Ahh! Happy Birthday Rin! I sincerely hope you have an amazing day! We're all thinking of you!_

_Nagisa: happy birthday rin-chan!!! miss u!!! please get really drunk today for meeee~_

_Haru: Happy Birthday Rin._

_Ai: Happy Birthday Rin-senpai! Please enjoy your birthday to the fullest!_

_Gou: Happy Birthday Onii-chan! Mom and I miss you a lot! Have a good day!_

There was no message from Rei. 

Heartbroken, Rin closed his eyes and slumped down over the desk, resting his head on his arms. He gripped tightly to his forearms, feeling his nails dig into the skin. He tried so hard to fight back tears. He knew Rei would message him; he just had to be patient, but the fact that he had not even received a simple 'Happy Birthday, I'll talk to you later' stung.

A sudden knock on the door pulled him from his grief. Rin groaned. He didn't really want to talk to anyone right now, so he did not get up to answer the door.

The knocking continued.

Rin growled and crossed his arms over his chest, sharp teeth grinding together in annoyance.

The incessant knocking did not stop.

"Ugh!" He stormed over to the door an threw it open, his face scrunched in anger. "What?!"

"Woah, Rin! Put those freaky teeth away!" Max teased. "I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday!"

"Thanks Max." he sighed.

Max noticed his downtrodden look. "What's wrong? It's your birthday!" He threw an arm over Rin's shoulder and pulled him close. "You should be happy!"

"I was just reading some messages from my friends." 

"What? Why'd that make you sad?" Max asked. "You get some bad news?"

Rin shook his head. "No. I just didn't get a message from Rei yet. You remember Rei, right?"

There was a sudden brightness on Max's face. "Oh yeah, I do remember!" He tilted his head in confusion. "He didn't wish you 'Happy Birthday' yet?"

Rin shook his head again.

"Aww, that's too bad! I'm sure he'll message you soon; you're really close, right?"

"Yeah." 

Max pulled away from him, sporting a bashful expression.

"What is that look for?" Rin demanded, suspicious of anything he may have planned.

"I invited some people over from the other night. You know, to wish you a happy birthday on your actual birthday. They should be here soon. You don't mind, do you?"

Rin sighed, though he was thankful for Max trying to make his birthday more enjoyable while he was so far from home. "Yeah, that's fine. I could use the distraction for a while."

"Beauty!" He clapped Rin on the back. "Hey, while we wait, can I see your birthday messages?"

Rin snickered. "Sure, but you won't be able to read them!"

"Why not?"

"They're in Japanese, you idiot!" 

Max laughed. "But you can read them to me, right?" 

"I guess." Rin chuckled. Max was a master at putting people at ease, and Rin was no exception. 

Rin opened the Skype window and clicked through all the messages from his friends and family back home, translating them one by one for Max. 

"I like this 'Nagisa' guy!" Max snickered.

"You actually remind me of him a lot!" Rin replied with a smirk.

"All these friends, how long have you known them?" Max asked suddenly.

Rin glanced over at him. "Ah, most of them I've known for a really long time. Gou is my sister obviously, Sousuke is second longest; I've known him since elementary school. Then Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa. The newest is Ai. I only met him in my second year of high school." 

Max listened pointedly to Rin. To be honest, he felt kind of bad for Rin. To have to be so far away from his friends and family on his birthday had to be rough, so he tried his best to create an environment of warmth and hospitality for him.

At that moment, another message for Rin arrived on the screen. Max saw the way his eyes lit up as he heard the pop of the message tone, but he also noticed the way his smile fell.

"Another message? Man of the hour!"

"Yeah." Rin said quietly, defeated. "This one is from my friend, Kisumi. I've known him almost as long as Sousuke. We all went to elementary school together."

"His name is 'Kisumi'? Sounds like 'kiss me!" Max laughed.

Rin joined him in his laughter, albeit half-heartedly. "Yeah."

"Still no message from Rei, huh?"

Rin simply shook his head.

"How long have you known him?"

Rin suddenly realized that Rei was his newest friend. Indeed, they hadn't known each other long, but they knew each other well. 

"Actually, he's the newest." Rin stated. "We've only been friends since my last year of high school."

Max made a surprised face. "But you're already so close? You two must be really similar!"

"Not really." Rin said quietly. He couldn't really see a lot of similarities between him and Rei, but perhaps there were more than he realized.

A quiet, tentative knock sounded from the outside of the door, and Max was there in a flash.

"There's the friends I invited!" he announced. He opened the door to let in the guests, but Max did not recognize the person at the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

Rin perked up. He couldn't see out the door from the angle he was at, but he listened in curiosity, glancing over at Max.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I must have the wrong room." The voice from the other side of the door said. 

Rin's entire body tensed and he felt his heart start to pound in his chest. He would recognize that voice anywhere and at any time in history, English grammatically-perfect but heavily-accented. The speaker would settle for nothing less. His heart pulsed hard and fast in his chest, and he was acutely aware of every thumping beat as he struggled to comprehend the situation.

"I'm looking for Rin Matsuoka. Do you know which room is his?"

Max turned to Rin, gesturing for the person at the door to come inside. "Rin, you know this bloke?" He stood aside as the figure at the door poked his head inside the room and fixed his gaze right on Rin, violet eyes sparkling behind the dorkiest red glasses that Rin had never in his life been happier to see.

"Happy Birthday Rin." Rei said, continuing in his practice of English.

Rin was suddenly aware that he needed to breathe and inhaled sharply as he started to cry. 

"Rei!" The name left his throat as a strangled sob. He shot up from his seat and knocked a few papers and pens off the desk in his haste to get to the door. He threw his arms around Rei's neck and wept openly into the collar of his short-sleeved, button-up shirt.

"Oh, so this is Rei!" Max declared, glad to see Rin so happy on his birthday. "Good to know ya! I'm Max!" he held out his hand for a handshake.

With Rin still weeping into his neck, Rei reached around Rin to return the gesture, shaking Max's hand firmly. "Nice to meet you. My name is Rei Ryuugazaki."

Max released his hand and moved to pull Rei's luggage into Rin's room, sidestepping the two boys.

After a few more seconds, Rin seemed to gain control of himself and pulled his head out from the crook of Rei's neck. He sniffled loudly and moved his arms to circle around Rei's waist.

"Max, I lied to you before." he announced, turning only his head to face Max.

"Hm? About what?" 

"About Rei. He's not just my friend." Rin turned back to Rei, smiling softly. "He's my boyfriend. I love him."

Max felt his heart flutter at Rin's confession. "Awww, that's why you were crying about him when you were drunk!" he laughed. "And why you were so down about him not messaging you!" He hugged both boys close. "I'm glad you told me, mate. It means a lot to me that you trust me that much." 

Rei, having exhausted his small supply of conversational English and finding Max's accent difficult to understand, was unaware of what the two were discussing. His eyes shifted between them before settling on Rin and switching his speech back to Japanese. 

_"Rin, what is he talking about? His English is hard to understand."_ Rei furrowed his brow.

Laughing, Rin replied, _"I know. I still can't understand him some days, and I've known him for two years!"_

Max looked confused at their sudden switch to Japanese. "Hey, don't leave me out of the conversation!" he pouted.

"Sorry Max, but Rei's not very skilled with English." Rin smirked. "He knows the theory, but he needs practice."

"Well, he can get lots of practice here!" Max replied, releasing the two boys and tapping his chin in thought. "We should do something! Go out for drinks!"

"Don't you think I drank enough on Saturday?" Rin said sarcastically.

"There's always room for more!"

Rin noticed Rei's confused face and realized that he had not let Rei go since he had entered the room.

"I'd love for us to show Rei around, but I'd rather it wait until tomorrow." He hugged Rei close. "I wanna spend my birthday with him alone." 

"Ahh, I understand!" Max winked. "I'll cancel the birthday visitors and leave you two alone~" he drawled.

Rin blushed suddenly. "Not like that!" he said indignantly, then his eyes fell in embarrassment. "Well, maybe a little."

Rei quickly looked between Rin and Max, confusion apparent on his features. This conversation was far too fast-paced for him to comprehend. He spoke quietly to Rin in Japanese. 

_"What is he saying?"_

_"Uh, he said he's going to leave us alone because he thinks we wanna... uhh..."_ Rin kept his eyes on the floor.

_"Rin?"_

_"He thinks we wanna... h-have sex."_

Rei felt his cheeks colour pink and his muscles tighten as he hid his face from the other two.

Rin couldn't hold back a fond laugh at the adorably embarrassed look on Rei's face, but he knew Rei would be up for it once Max left. He kissed Rei lightly on the temple.

"I can't believe he lets you get so close to him with those chompers!" Max teased as he slipped out of the room. Rin tried to land a quick punch as he moved past the two of them, but Max was too fast. He settled on slamming and locking the door behind him.

"Don't worry about Max." Rin said. "He just likes to joke around."

"He seems nice, even if I can't understand half of what he says." 

Rin chuckled. "Welcome to Australia." He stroked Rei's cheek lightly before leaning in for a languid kiss, allowing all the loneliness he had felt over the last few days to bleed away and pool into pure bliss. 

When the two separated, both their cheeks were once again tinged pink. 

"Rei, how long have you been planning this?"

Rei smiled gently. "Quite a while. At least December, before my birthday. Remember when I promised we'd see each other again soon?"

Rin did remember. He wouldn't have imagined that the 'soon' Rei had been referring to would be this soon. He felt his eyes grow cloudy with tears. 

"What about your classes? Your test?"

Rei laughed. "I'm ahead in my classes, and the test was a lie so you wouldn't think it was weird that I wasn't on Skype for a few days. I needed that time to pack and travel. I also used a few days to brush up on my English." he added. "I'm taking college level English in Tokyo."

"God, Rei, I love you so much. I couldn't even begin to tell you."

Rei let out a small, surprised noise, then he broke out into a beautiful smile. "I love you too, Rin." He wrapped his arms around Rin and pulled him into a warm embrace. "Now, how should we celebrate your birthday?"

"What do you think of Max's idea?" Rin snickered.

"Rin!" Rei screeched. "Maybe you should show me around your dorm first?" 

Rin gestured toward the room as he kissed at Rei's neck. "There, I showed you."

"Rin, seriously!" Rei insisted, trying to hold him at an arm's length.

Rin pulled away. "Okay, okay." He looked around the room. "That's my desk, and that's my fridge, and my bathroom's through there. Well, communal bathroom." he said, pointing to all the things as he named them off. Crossing the room in a few steps, he stood by the window, making an exaggerated gesture toward it. "And here's the window!" he taunted.

Rei crossed his arms in a standoffish display. 

Rin sighed. "I'm sorry, Rei. I'm just excited to have you here; I can't concentrate on showing you this boring shoebox of a room." He shrugged and stepped over to the bed, sitting down on the soft mattress. "All I want to do is hold you."

Rei beamed a tender smile down over Rin and carefully sat down on the bed next to him. "I want the same." he murmured. He wound his arms around Rin's neck and kissed him lightly.

Rin enjoyed the feeling of Rei moving against him - a feeling that he had missed insanely these last few months. After a moment, he broke away.

"Rei, I still have to show you my favourite area of the room," he said. "And it's my favourite for a few reasons."

"Where?" Rei asked, smirking.

"The bed." he answered, raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Rei chuckled. "It's my favourite as well." His eyes suddenly brightened, and he broke away from Rin. "Ah, just one moment please." He leaned down to dig through his luggage. "I have a surprise for you."

Rin was very interested. "Is it a present?"

"Hm, not really." Rei answered, continuing to dig. "Just a surprise."

Rin did not take his eyes off Rei as he rifled through the bag. He noticed Rei stop moving, seemingly having found what he was looking for. He looked back at Rin, a devious grin on his face.

"Please don't scream." Rei said as he sat up, pulling the dildo that Rin had bought him for his birthday out of his luggage.

Forget screaming, Rin was speechless as his eyes darted between Rei and the toy, his mouth hanging open.

"Rei, I can't believe you brought that!" he gaped, reaching for the toy. 

Rei handed it to him. "I couldn't believe it either. I was so nervous when I was checking my bag in." he sighed. "I was scared that they were going to open it and everyone would see that I had it in there."

Rin cackled boisterously, setting it down on the bed. "Well, since you went through all that stress to get it here, we should probably make good use of it." he declared, pushing Rei down onto the bed and moving over him.

Rei pulled Rin close and swiftly pecked him on the lips as he was laid down on his back. "That was my plan."

"Then tomorrow, we can explore Sydney. Sound good?" Rin mumbled into Rei's neck.

"Whatever you want, Rin." Rei said, combing his fingers through Rin's hair. "After all, it's your birthday."

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, one last thing to note quickly.
> 
> In the scene where Rin tells Rei that he loves him a lot(just after Rei says he's studying English in Tokyo), the "I love you" that he uses is "Koishiteru (恋してる), meaning very deep love(like "I'll love you until the end of my days and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."), whereas previously, they had been using "Aishiteru (愛してる)" for each other, which is a less intense way to say "I love you." That was why Rei was surprised when Rin said it.
> 
> Anyway, happy birthday to my beautiful shark princess~


End file.
